


Eternal Sunshine

by Captainkrueger



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: F/M, conquestshipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-26
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-02-27 02:56:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2676386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captainkrueger/pseuds/Captainkrueger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valon takes advantage of a memory erasing procedure to forget about Mai and their bad breakup. Problem is they live in the same city, and are bound to run into each other. Inspired by the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Conquestshipping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**State your name and who you want to erase from your memory.**

_My name is Valon and I want to erase Mai Valentine._

**How long ago did you meet Ms. Valentine?**

_Eleven, twelve months ago. I really dunno._

**How did you meet?**

_... During a dark time in life._

**Tell me more about the event.**

_..._

**Valon, we can't help you if you won't work with us.**

_It never said I'd have to give you everything._

**Of course not, Valon. You don't need to tell me all the details. Just give me something. Think of this interview as a frame, an outline. Give us the, er, blueprints, and we'll go from there.**

_It was raining. She looked lost. I offered her help._

**Describe your relationship with Ms. Valentine.**

_Strained._

**I'll need you to elaborate, Valon. Try giving a general outline about your relationship with her. What brought you to the point of wanting her wiped from your memory?**

_I met her when she was feeling alone and down. I brought her to my boss. He offered her a job. I was attracted to her from the start, but she found me annoying. But like the little shit I was, that didn't discourage me. I fought for her approval. Threw myself in the face of danger and punched it. I just tried to be there for her. I didn't have the smallest chance, back then. She was all about this other guy, a friend of hers. We got separated for a while but she came back, eventually. Everything was...fine, for a while. Great, even..._

**How so?**

_She came back and we started something. Everything was sunshine and roses for a while. But...he was always there._

**Who do you mean?**

_That friend of hers. He came in with her the minute she walked through the door. I-I always...felt his presence. I didn't exactly realize it at first. It was just this small nagging feeling in the back of my head. But he was there and it only grew stronger the worse it became._

**And that led to a break up?**

_Basically._

**Describe how remembering her makes you feel.**

_Alone. Betrayed. Inadequate. Used. Mostly alone._

**Would you say you feel heartsick?**

_Why else would I be here?_

**Quite right. What else are your feelings on the matter?**

_I just want to know: why even bother?_


	2. Chapter 1

_You took my heart and you held it in your mouth_   
_And with a word all my love came rushing out_   
_And every whisper, it's the worst,_   
_Emptied out by a single word_   
_There is a hollow in me now_

* * *

 

Valon had taken to running each morning before breakfast. It was a habit he'd picked up during his detour in Europe after finding plenty of time on his hands. Running, he'd found, gave him time alone with his thoughts; in the time between he'd started from his front door to the time he'd returned for a cool shower, Valon found himself thinking about the last year.

Valon knew that his time away had done him well, but truth be told, he could only vaguely remember why he'd run off to Europe for a few months. Something about getting away and decompressing after leaving his job, but...he had the smallest feeling that there was another reason. Like he knew there was another reason why he'd left his peaceful beach house, and it was somehow connected with his job, but try as he might, Valon could not remember.

He didn't let it get to him, though; far as he was concerned, it didn't matter why he'd left. He'd had his fun and returned, coming back to a city that was not truly his, to a life that was not truly his, but it would all have to do. Maybe it was okay that he didn't have his life figured out at that moment—and who exactly was there to expect that of him, anyway? It wasn't like he'd kept in contact with Allister and Raphael—especially not...

Valon's thoughts came to a pause even though he kept running. Keeping careful not to bump into the other people on the sidewalk, Valon tried to remember who exactly was evading him. He knew he should know the person's name, whoever they were; he could feel the name forming on his lips, but he simply couldn't remember.

Valon exhaled and pressed on, running faster, trying to leave his growing confusion behind when a beautiful blonde stranger entered his field of vision.

An absolutely gorgeous woman stood a few yards ahead of him, tensed, staring at him in surprise, like a startled cat. Odd, Valon thought, but unless something was off with his face, he doubted she was looking at him, so he merely smiled at her as he came closer to passing her. He'd love to say hi, but he was dripping with sweat and would doubtlessly hold a terrible conversation since he was breathing heavily, so he kept on jogging.

However, he came to a stop when the beautiful stranger stuttered his name in disbelief.

That got Valon to stop.

Grinding to a halt, Valon, trying to catch his breath, looked over his shoulder at the woman who was staring at him with widened, alarmed eyes. He turned around and sized the woman up, trying to see if maybe he did know her. He...he didn't think so. "'Scuse me?"

"Valon, I..." the stranger mumbled, gazing at him somewhat nervously. "H-how are you? You look well."

Now Valon was really confused. "Do I..." he said slowly, uncertainly. "Do I...know you?"


	3. Chapter 2

The stranger blinked. Her slightly grimacing mouth pulled down further into a frown. "Hah-hah," she deadpanned. "Very funny, Valon."

Valon, bewildered, took a cautious step back. Who was this strange woman, and what did she want with him? "Hey," he mumbled. "How d'you know my name?"

The woman blinked again and pursed her colored lips in indignation. "This isn't funny, Valon," she snapped, stiffly crossing her arms.

"No," Valon agreed, frowning. "It's not. Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"Dammit, Valon!" Mai exclaimed. "Grow up and stop acting like you don't know me!"

"I-I'm... I'm not acting," Valon stammered, holding his hands up defensively. "Trust me, miss. I would certainly remember a person like you."

The color drained from the woman's face as realization overtook her. "Oh, my god," she moaned, bringing a soft-looking hand up to her mouth. "You're serious, aren't you?"

Valon, eyeing her warily, nodded tentatively. "Honest, I don't," he murmured. "H-how d'you know who I am?"

"You really don't remember me, Valon?" the stranger pressed on, ignoring his question, sounding surprisingly hurt.

The surprises just kept coming, didn't they? Valon felt sorry for her now. Maybe it was just because he was such a softy now, but he hated to see her so distraught. "No," he whispered, realizing that he really didn't want to disappoint her and that he really wanted to see her smile. He searched his brain, trying to remember if they had maybe met once. He knew they could not have known each other as children because he didn't really make friends as a kid, so if he knew her, he would have met her in his time working for Dartz. True, there had been women from time to time when he got lonely and Raph and Al didn't want to go out with him in their free time, but they never stuck around in one place long enough for him to form any meaningful relationships. Valon also knew that she was not from his excursion in Europe; he had all the important ones' information stored in his phone for whenever he wanted to drop a message, and she was not in his list of contacts, nor did he have any memories of her.

He wanted to believe her, but who could she possibly be?

"So you remember nothing about our time together," she mumbled, speaking more to herself than to him.

Valon shook his head helplessly. "I'm sorry," he said earnestly. "I gotta go now," he told her, slowly turning around and jogging off, hoping not to run into more strangers claiming to know him.

* * *

_He found the advertisement by chance._

Lacuna, _it said._ For those who need help with forgetting.

_It was a small 2x3 ad in a magazine. It was coincidence, pure coincidence that he'd given it a passing glance, but it was curiosity that made him give in and call._

* * *

_"Have you ever found yourself wishing you could erase your memory?"_

_Valon heard angry fifteen year olds screaming, banging on metal doors; he felt arms restrain him, pulling him back while he screamed and struggled. He smelled smoke, felt searing heat on his face, heard wailing five year olds. He heard grown men pleading as the Seal closed in on them. He heard clothes and other possessions being hastily thrown in a bag, heard heels skittering out the room and the door slamming shut. He heard the aggressive silence that overtook him._

_"Valon?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"Did you hear me?"_

_"Oh, yeah. Yeah. I have. Who hasn't?"_

_"Yes, well, that's where we come in. If there's someone in your life you would rather forget, that's when you come to us."_

_Valon looked at the so-called doctor sitting across from him. A tiny, skinny man with off white hair to match the off white room in which they sat. The man squinted at Valon behind eye classes with tiny lenses that looked too small to be of any practical use. The room was undecorated, but he supposed that really didn't matter, did it? But for the table where Dr. Curtis had laid out a digital recorder, a notepad, and several legal forms for another client, the room was bare of any furnishings. "Yeah? That so?"_

_Dr. Curtis sighed and removed his glasses, folding them up and slipping them into his pocket. He steepled his thin fingers before his thin mustache and stared at Valon. "Valon," he said calmly. "Why are you here?"_

_"To forget," Valon replied simply._

_"If that truly is the case, then could you stop trying to act like I'm selling snake oil?"_

_"Sorry," Valon apologized. "It's just hard to wrap my head around. It's like something out of sci-fi, y'know?"_

_"I understand that you're feeling somewhat incredulous," Dr. Curtis replied soothingly, folding his hands on the table. "Anyone who has not seen the effect Lacuna has on people would have their reservations. So tell me, Valon: do you wish to continue?"_

_"'Course," Valon responded without missing a beat._

_Dr. Curtis nodded. "Very well, then. Now before we can discuss scheduling a proper interview, I'll answer any questions you have now."_

_Valon paused for a moment. "Just walk me through it."_

* * *

_Valon spent that night staring at the ceiling in his bed, which was small by most standards, but felt unbearably empty to him. This, Valon realized as he spread his legs wide open to touch both sides of the bed with the heels of his feet, was why he'd called Lacuna, why he'd gone in the first place to talk to Dr. Curtis._

_"Why are you doing this?" Raphael's voice, even if Valon hadn't seen the big guy in months._

_"Because I don't need that weighing on me," Valon replied in his head._

_"Is Mai Valentine really the worst thing that's ever happened to you?"_

_"Of course not."_

_"Then why her, Valon? Out of all of the things you've seen in your short life, why do you choose to forget her?"_

_Valon sighed and rolled onto his side, back facing his imaginary companion. "'Cause if I erased all of the bad from my life, I'd forget who I am, where I came from. My past shaped me, Raph. But this? This is something I can do without."_

_Raphael left him alone after that, leaving Valon to struggle with his thoughts until he finally fell asleep, trying not to pay attention to the fact that he was alone in his bed._


	4. Chapter 3

Watching Valon jog away from her, Mai stood there as if her shoes were cemented to the ground. Trying to process what had just occurred, she stood there, staring dumbly at Valon's back until he rounded a corner and disappeared from her field of vision.

_Valon. Doesn't. Remember me._

Mai shook her head in disbelief. She chuckled nervously and continued walking. No, she decided, shaking her head; of course Valon still remembered her. You did not forget everything about a person you knew— _very_ well, she might add, for a _long_ time—over the span of a few weeks, unless you hit your head and forgot everything, or if someone used magic or advanced technology to wipe your memory. Although she had seen her fair share of strange happenings, had experienced them herself, she seriously doubted that was the case for Valon, now that he was free of Dartz. Valon was just lying, wasn't he? He was just an astoundingly convincing actor and was only pretending so he didn't have to face facts.

Although...

Why would he feel compelled to lie? Valon, for the most part, was a straightforward kind of guy. No playing, no bullshit. She felt that he'd become a little more cautious around her since they'd happened upon each other for the first time in a while months ago, but not to this extent. True, it had been a bad breakup, and she knew he was hurt, but why lie? Why pretend?

She distractedly walked back home and found Joey and the gang either playing video games or watching the tomfoolery in her living room. Truth be told, having lived alone for years, it was still strange seeing so many people in her apartment at one time. Sharing a living space with just one person was bizarre enough for her, even if her months with Valon had helped her grow somewhat accustomed to it, but having so many loud teenagers in her apartment this early on a Saturday was a little off-putting. But it made Joey happy, and she did love them all, so she would sacrifice some peace and quiet for Joey's sake. She...she was happy to do it. She was happy so long as Joey was happy.

So happy.

So, so happy.

So, so _very_ happy.

She was happy.

Really.

* * *

Valon was tempted to strip off all of his clothes as soon as he walked through his front door, but he knew he should hold off til he got to the bathroom, so he settled for kicking off his shoes and peeling off his shirt. Draping his soaked shirt on his shoulder, Valon trudged to the refrigerator to pull out a water bottle.

He thought about the blonde stranger as he upended the cold plastic bottle. He closed his eyes as he allowed the chilled water to collect in his parched mouth before taking a grateful swallow, all the while thinking about the strange encounter. The woman had seemed so sure that they knew each other, but Valon didn't even know her name. He realized that he kind of wanted to know her name, that he wanted to get to know her, but given what had just happened, that would be too strange.

The more he thought of her, of her soft-looking hair, of her captivating violet eyes, her curves, her way of carrying herself, he felt a strange tugging within himself. It was similar to the feeling he got whenever he felt like there was more behind his story to running off to Europe. It was like the name that wanted to be spoken.

Valon exhaled and set the water bottle down on the island. He was just being weird, he realized. If he knew that woman, he would have remembered. True, it was strange that she seemed to know him, but that must be a coincidence. A very strange, specific coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless.

Valon shrugged, capped the water bottle, placed it back in the fridge, and then walked off to take his shower.

* * *

_"So how does this work, Doc?" Valon asked Dr. Curtis._

_"We're going to give you something to help you stay asleep during the night," Dr. Curtis explained, holding up a small plastic bottle. He shook it so Valon could hear the medicine rattling inside. "You said you don't have any allergies, right?"_

_"Right," Valon replied as Dr. Curtis handed him the small plastic bottle over_ _so he could read the label over. "So I take these. And then what?"_

_"Two of my employees will enter your house about thirty minutes after the lights go out to make sure you are asleep," Dr. Curtis replied. "You'd do well to leave your door unlocked so we don't have to worry about spare keys. That is, unless you have one outside for us to use and then put back?"_

_Valon shook his head. "I don't."_

_"Very well," Dr. Curtis responded. "If you don't feel like giving us a spare key, my employees will enter your house via the unlocked door, work through the procedure, and then you will wake up the next morning without memories of Lacuna and, ah, Ms. Valentine."_

* * *

__Valon quietly entered his home with a few grocery bags and the small paper bag Dr. Curtis had given him. He entered the kitchen, tossed the paper bag onto the kitchen table, and set the grocery bags on the island. Slowly unbagging his purchases, Valon set to putting up the things he'd bought under the watch of the paper bag._ _ __Once he was done, Valon opened up the paper bag and pulled out the plastic bottle, holding it up to the light and studying it. He turned it over slowly, causing the pills to shift loudly._ _

____Valon let out a sigh as his eyes glazed over.__ Well, it was happening. Come next morning, he'd have no memory of Mai Valentine._ _

* * *

_Having made sure that the door was unlocked for the Lacuna guys to enter without problem, Valon entered the kitchen. He stopped at the island and leaned forward on the counter, staring at the bottle of sleeping pills. Nothing to do but to take them now, he mused. He contemplated whether he should really go through with this or just call it off. This was a big decision he was making, but his gaze wandered to the kitchen table, landing on the chair where he'd seen Mai drinking her coffee many a time. He could see her now, sitting in the chair the way she'd always sat, one leg crossed over the other, as she sipped her drink while the early sunlight filtered in through the partially open wooden slat blinds she'd convinced him to buy once._

_Valon swallowed and set his jaw in determination, looking back at the plastic pill bottle with newfound resolution. Yeah, he decided. He was going to do this._

_He snatched the bottle up and unscrewed the top, shaking out the recommended dosage of two pills onto the palm of his hand. He tossed the sleeping meds into his mouth and swallowed without bothering to grab a glass of water. Valon took one last look at the kitchen table before turning on his heel, walking out of the kitchen, and switching the lights off._

_He turned the living room lights off and crept up the stairs, wanting to disturb the silence in his house as little as possible. The Lacuna guys were out there, he knew, counting down the minutes until they could enter and get to work, watching for all of the lights to go out in his house._

_It was just that easy, wasn't it? Go to sleep and let some other people take over for you and you'd wake up like nothing had happened._

_It was just one of his problems solved, Valon realized as he entered his bedroom, flicking the light switch off, and that would make things easier for him._


	5. Chapter 4

_It was Kevin's first erasing, and it was Parker's job to show him the ropes. Since it was Kevin's first time, Parker was going to be the one in command and would explain step by step what he was doing, all while Kevin watched. Parker would occasionally test Kevin's knowledge throughout the long night, ask for his assistance if need be, and even though he wasn't really allowed to do so, ask Kevin to make pots of coffee when they were finding it difficult to keep their eyes open._

_As they unloaded their equipment from the van, Parker found himself wishing for the umpteenth time that the equipment wasn't so damn heavy, especially since they'd have to lug all this crap upstairs._

_"How long have you been doing this?" Kevin whispered to Parker as the older one of the two tested the doorknob with his free hand to make sure the client had left it unlocked. He really hated it when clients forgot and locked the door anyway out of habit._

_"'Bout two years," Parker answered casually as he opened the door. "And you don't have to whisper. Chances are he's asleep."_

_"I-I know," Kevin replied as he crossed the threshold. "It's just...so strange. Kinda exciting."_

_Parker snorted. "It gets to be pretty routine after the first few times," he responded dully as Kevin locked the front door, just in case. "No big deal. Okay, so Boss said our guy's gonna be in the upstairs bedroom."_

_Parker and Kevin walked in silence in the few moments that it took to approach the staircase._

_"This's a big house for a single guy," Kevin commented, having a look around._

_Parker shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But a house by the beach?" he asked as they ascended the stairs. "Why the hell not?"_

_"Yeah, I guess," Kevin agreed. "I'd like to live here."_

_Parker grunted in response as they drew closer to the bedroom. He rolled his eyes when he noticed that the door was closed. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Aw, shit," he complained having to cradle the device he was holding in the crook of his arm yet again so he could open the door._

_The client lay in his bed, seemingly asleep. Parker wanted to make sure, though. "Hey," he said in his normal voice._

_The guy did not stir._

_"He's asleep," Parker confirmed, setting down the equipment he was carrying. "Okay, rookie, let's get to it."_

* * *

Joey was the first to notice Mai once she entered the apartment. He looked up at her and grinned, saying, "Hey, babe! I hope you don't mind."

Mai's only answer was to smile, and she made her way to the kitchen, reminding herself that hers and Joey's relationship was still new, really, so she could keep her irritation at bay. It was too early for stress and drama, she thought, so Mai was willing to let this one go. There would be a time where they'd start setting boundaries, but she really didn't want to get into that at the moment.

This was how they both dealt with confrontation now; they just let things slide in order to maintain peace, since they didn't want to ruing things at the moment. Their new life together was something along the lines of happiness mingled with awkwardness, even if that went against what they both stood for.

Truth be told, that was how things had been ever since she'd found him in the Game Shop. The afternoon after Valon had ended things with her, she hopped in her car and drove for the Game Shop, hoping that Joey was there with the others, yet praying that he wasn't. Life was strange like that.

So she'd entered the shop quietly, electing to avoid a grand entrance. The shop was empty, save for Yugi leaning on the counter, going over homework problems with Joey. Mai exhaled and Yugi, having heard the door open and close, looked up, starting to recite the greeting he gave to all customers. He stopped when he noticed who it was standing at the door, and a look of shock replaced his chipper smile. Stumbling on his words, Yugi gestured for Joey to look over at his shoulder.

Joey looked over his shoulder lazily, unfazed by Yugi's change in demeanor. When he realized that she was really standing there, his eyes widened. He turned himself around, shouting, "Mai? Is—is that really you?"

A small grin appeared on Mai's face as she took a few steps forward. "Yeah, Joey," she murmured. "It's really me."

Joey let out a sound a jubilation, and he wasted no time running up to her and throwing his arms around her in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you, Mai!" he exclaimed, squeezing her and dancing from foot to foot happily.

And Mai had happily returned his hug. She'd closed her eyes and rested her chin on his shoulder, humming to herself contentedly, now that she was finally in the arms she'd imagined herself in all those months with Valon. Her smile faltered when she thought of Valon, and discomfort started to eclipse the relief she felt to be in Joey's arms.

Her eyes slid open and Yugi caught her eye as she tried to maintain a genuine smile. Yugi stood there, behind the counter, brow furrowed, with an uncertain smile. Her own brow furrowing, Mai looked at Yugi and smiled morosely at him while Joey continued to dance and tell her how he was so excited to see her.

Funny, Mai had thought as she held onto Joey. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life thus far, but...

Mai screwed her eyes shut and held on tighter. But nothing! She was here with Joey, and that was all that mattered. It was all she wanted, all she needed.

Right?

* * *

_"Sooo," Kevin said as Parker waited for the computer to wake up. "We're erasing his ex-girlfriend, right?"_

_Parker nodded, pulling out a picture he had. Each job, he kept at least one object from a client in his pocket for reference, whatever was small enough to fit in his pocket. Photographs were ideal. He handed the picture to Kevin._

_Kevin whistled. "Wonder what he did to make her so mad."_

_Parker shook his head. "It's not like that," he replied, drumming his fingers on his knee as the computer brought up the desktop._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean, going by his interview,_ he _broke up with_ her. _"_

_"R-really?" Kevin asked, surprised._

_"Tch'yeah," Parker replied. "Relationships are more complicated than that, Kevin. People, regardless of sex or gender, are capable of messing up."_

_"I-I didn't...mean it like that," Kevin stammered, turning red._

_"Uh huh," Parker replied as he clicked open the correct program. "Sure. Okay, we should be golden in a few minutes."_

_"Do you—do you ever stop and think about what this all means?" Kevin asked curiously, fitting the device that allowed them a look into someone's head around the client's head, having a hard time with it because of the guy's gigantic hair._

_"Yeah," Parker replied, tapping in the password. "We're wiping peoples' memories."_

_"N-no, I mean more than that," Kevin continued. "You ever think about how we erasing more than just memories—we're erasing people?"_

_"Not from the real world," Parker replied._

_"I know," Kevin replied, sitting back down on his chair. "I mean how we're erasing parts of peoples' lives."_

_"That is the point of this whole operation," Parker replied dryly. Poor kid was trying to act like he was coming across something novel, something profound._

_"I know that. Do you just ever stop and think about that?"_

_Parker sighed and clicked "Go." He turned and looked at Kevin. "Yeah. I do. Now be a good assistant and go make some coffee."_


	6. Chapter 5

_**It was the beginning of the end, Valon would realize later. That disinterested look was becoming too common on Mai's face, but of course Valon tried to ignore it. He tried to salvage things with her.** _

_**Like this particular morning. Mai, sans her makeup, bed head and all, sat cross-legged on his bed, staring down at the bed. Valon, with a towel wrapped around his neck, entered the room quietly and cleared his throat.** _

_**Mai looked up at him.** _

**_"Taking a shower," he told her._ **

**_A pause._ **

**_"Care to join me?"_ **

**_"Sure," Mai replied, voice devoid of emotion._ **

**_He turned and headed for the upstairs bathroom without checking to see if she was following. Valon opened the bathroom door and flicked on the light while he heard Mai's feet padding along the tiled floor behind him. Mai leaned against the bathroom counter while he got the shower going._ **

**_When the stream of water was at the preferred temperature, Valon turned and looked at Mai. She wore a violet camisole and white cotton shorts that didn't make it past her thumbs. A few weeks ago he would have hauled her up onto the counter and kissed her. A few weeks ago they would have helped each other undress._ **

**_And now?_ **

**_Now..._ **

**_Now it was a small miracle that they were even sharing a shower together._ **

**_He shed his shirt and dropped it to the floor while Mai dropped her shorts. His sweatpants were the next thing to go; they pooled at his feet while Mai removed her camisole. He stepped out of his boxers while Mai's panties joined the pile of clothes on the floor._ **

**_Valon stepped into the stream of warm water and Mai followed. Facing the shower head, he dropped his head under the water, closing his eyes. Mai's arms wrapped around him and her head rested on his back. They both stood there in silence as the walls around them started dissolving into a black abyss._ **

* * *

_"Aaand that is how you get the process started," Parker told Kevin, who stared at the computer screen. Parker picked up his satchel off the floor and pulled out a book. "And now we wait," he said dully, searching for the place where he'd left off._

_Kevin stared at him in disbelief. "Y-you're going to r-read?" he spluttered._

_"Yup," Parker replied without looking up at his green assistant. "Pour me another cup, would you?"_

_"You're not supposed to do that!" Kevin insisted, fidgeting in his seat nervously._

_Parker looked up at Kevin jadedly. He was tired, bored, and low on coffee. He really wasn't in the mood to be lectured by some doe eyed rookie who thought he knew more. "Really?" he said calmly. "Why, I had no idea! Thanks for telling me, Kevin!" He promptly returned his attention to his book._

_"But Dr. Curtis said we should pay attention to the monitor at all times."_

_"I know what he said, Kevin."_

_"So what if something goes wrong?"_

_"Then I will know."_

_"But how could you if you're not looking?"_

_"There will be a loud 'beep-beep.' Then and only then will I look up. Chances are, though, that that won't happen. It rarely ever happens where we have to interfere. Now do me a favor and pour me another cup of coffee. Please and thank you."_

* * *

**_Valon was eating breakfast at the kitchen table with Mai while a fresh pot of coffee brewed. The room was devoid of sounds except for silverware occasionally scraping plates and the coffee maker humming and chattering to itself._ **

**_"Here," said a sullen voice, making Valon startle in his seat and look up. He swore he could hear a voice coming from over his head. "Here's your coffee."_ **

**_Valon looked at his girlfriend. "Hey. Hey, Mai."_ **

**_She set her glass of orange juice down after taking a sip. "What, Valon?"_ **

**_Valon slowly pushed himself up out of his seat, looking around for the source of the voice. "Did you hear that?"_ **

**_"Hear what?" Mai asked him while Valon started circling the kitchen, straining to hear the mysterious voice again._ **

**_"Someone's in here," Valon insisted._ **

**_Mai sighed irritably and rolled her eyes. "Valon, no one's here but the two of us."_ **

**_Valon looked back at Mai and started when he saw the kitchen table starting to dissolve. "Mai?" Valon asked uncertainly, looking around nervously as the room started to fade away like thin paper being burned by a match. He reached his hand out to touch the refrigerator, which was dematerializing right before him. He looked back at Mai to see her looking up at him, unconcerned as she herself started to dissolve. Valon cursed and ran over to Mai, trying to reach her before everything blacked out._ **

**_He didn't make it._ **

* * *

**_"Here're your keys back," Valon said morosely, holding out the two house keys with a key chain Mai had given him what seemed like so long ago._ **

**_She snatched the keys out of his hands without looking at him while she continued to throw her things into her large bag. She stopped for a moment and looked at him._ **

**_Valon wiped his eyes and turned his head away._ **

**_"Valon?" Mai said hoarsely._ **

**_Valon squeezed his eyes shut as a shuddering breath traveled through him. A small, strangled sound managed to escape, and he hated himself for it._ **

**_"Valon?"_ **

**_He didn't answer her, didn't even look at her._ **

**_"Valon? Valon, come on. Valon, look... Valon, look at me. Look at me. Please?"_ **

**_Valon grit his teeth together._ **

**_"Valon, I'm... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."_ **

**_Valon exhaled and sniffed. "Just take your things and leave."_ **

**_Mai packed up like her life depended on it after that. When Valon finally opened his eyes after she left, he let out a frustrated yell as the room started to turn dark. "I'm glad this is happening!" he yelled at the ceiling that was dissolving more and more by the second. "I'm glad I'm erasing you!"_ **


End file.
